It's Election Day!

Monday, November 7

It's election day! So much to think about, the Presdential election is weighing heavy on the minds of everyone you meet. Whether you are a Trump or Clinton fan, it is clear everyone has a voice on election day. I wanted to empower my students to not only be knowledgeable about the current candidates but to also understand the voting process, and a little bit about our past presidents. This is a great way to take the focus off the current election and put the spotlight on our past presidential leaders.

To start we paired up with another third grade class. We had students in groups of 3 and 4. Each person had a job. We had speech writers, researchers,and publicists. They all had important roles to play within our mock presidential election.

To give students a starting point we used the president fact cards, they each contained important facts about political party, term, important information. Then we showed them how to use the internet to search for specific details. The giant posters also had information to be filled in so it helped to guide their research. The rooms were a buzz with busy little minds looking up presidential facts and reporting back to their groups.

Once all of the posters were complete the students focused in on their speech, we gave them a format to use it started off by introducing themselves ( which president they were), their political party and years spent in office then they had to highlight 3 important things they accomplished while in office. It was so neat to hear what facts they deemed interesting. To close each president had to make a campaign promise for what they would do if they were reelected to office. These ranged from updated schools with technology and science focus to saving all endangered habitats and animals. Their concerns were precious. I can't wait to see some of these students become passionate for change and choose a cause to fight for.

We then took to the stage and set it up for speeches and a mock election. We invited the whole 3rd grade and they got to listen in on our speeches. At the end they each received a ballot and got to mark their vote for which past president they wanted to see reelected. The whole process brought a new awareness to how important educating yourself about your candidate is and how much more we can understand from history when we take the time to research past leaders.

The colorful presidential posters were displayed as each president spoke. One student held the president mask and pretended to deliver the speech while another read the speech.The president masks were a hit, everyone couldn't get enough of them.

We used the presidential fact cards to decorate the stage. Our Tables were lined with privacy folders so the students could vote with privacy and security. they placed their ballots in the ballot box as they left the stage. This was such a fun exercise in understanding the voting process and connecting to our past presidents.